“Our thoughts are with those affected by the tragic accident in Norway.

“Following the accident the UK CAA has issued an instruction to stop any commercial passenger flights by UK operators flying the Airbus EC225LP helicopter. This mirrors action taken by the Norwegian CAA. The restriction does not apply to search and rescue flights.

“The accident involved a Norwegian helicopter and will therefore be investigated by the Norwegian authorities. We will offer any assistance that we can.

“We remain in close contact with all UK offshore helicopter operators to continue to assess the situation.”

Full details of the restrictions in place are available in our new safety directive.